DURHAM, N.C. (AP) Pablo Rivas had 23 points and 14 rebounds and North Carolina Central Eagles beat Coppin State Eagles 81-61 on Saturday.

Rivas was 4 of 7 from 3-point range, Alston Jones scored 16, Larry McKnight Jr. added 15 points and Reginald Gardner Jr. 11 for NCCU (9-8, 3-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), which was 15 of 17 from the foul line.

North Carolina Central pushed the lead into double digits for good with a 9-3 run that ended at 53-38 with 12:53 to go. North Carolina Central later had a 15-3 run to extend to the largest lead of the game at 75-49.

Cedric Council Jr. had 14 points and Karonn Davis scored 11 for Coppin State (1-18, 1-3), which led for the first seven minutes of the game before North Carolina Central took control with a 21-3 first-half run.

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